downloads unplugged album free mp3 Downloads alice in chains unplugged album free mp3. Alice in Chains es una banda de estadounidense, fundada en 1987 en Seattle. Con un nombre que ya en sí mismo denota bastante pesimismo y con un sonido más pesado y orientado al heavy metal que los grupos coetáneos de grunge, aunque dentro de este movimiento, Alice in Chains logró emerger de la escena de Seattle hasta convertirse en una de las bandas más importantes del llamado rock alternativo, llegando a vender en los Estados Unidos unos 14 millones de discos. Partes de la clave de su éxito fueron la combinación de ese sentido de indiferencia que se le supone al grunge con la fuerza del metal y característico juego armónico en las voces. Apoyándose en la visión depresiva del cantante Layne Staley sobre las drogas y la muerte, y los acordes metálicos del guitarrista ; gracias a eso Alice In Chains se posicionó rápidamente como una de las bandas más aceptadas por el público. Demo #1 (Link) Demo album 1987 01. Lip Lock Rock 02. Fat Girls 03. Over The Edge. Demo #2 (Link) Demo Album 1987 01.Sealed With a Kiss 02. Ya Yeah Ya 03. Glamerous Girls 04. Don't Satisfied 05. Hush, Hush 06. Football. EP (Link) EP Album 1990 01. We Die Young 02. It Ain't Like That 03. Killing Yourself. Facelift (Link) Official Album 1990 01. We Die Young 02. 03. 04. 05. I Can't Remember 06. Love, Hate, Love 07. It Ain't Like That 08. Sunshine 09. Put You Down 10. Confusion 11. I Know Something (Bout You) 12. Real Thing. Sap (Link) EP Album 1992 01. Brother 02. 03. Right Turn 04. Am I Inside 05. Love Song (Bonus Track) Dirt (Link) Official Album 1992 01. 02. Dam That River 03. Rain When I Die 04. 05. Sickman 06. Rooster 07. Junkhead 08. Dirt 09. Godsmack 10. Iron Man 11. 12. 13. Would? (Link) EP Album 1994 01. Rotten Apple 02. Nutshell 03. 04. No Excuses 05. Whale & Wasp 06. Don't Follow 07. Swing On This. Alice In Chains (Link) Official Album 1995 01. Grind 02. Brush Away 03. Sludge Factory 04. 05. Head Creeps 06. Again 07. Shame In You 08. God Am 09. So Close 10. Nothin' Song 11. Frogs 12. . MTV Unplugged (Link) Official Live Album 1996 01. Nutshell 02. Brother 03. No Excuses 04. Sludge Factory 05. Down in A Hole 06. Angry Chair 07. Rooster 08. Got Me Wrong 09. Heaven Beside You 10. Would? 11. Frogs 12. Over Now 13. Killer Is Me. Music Bank (Link) Compilate Album 1999. Disco 1 01. 02. I Can't Have You Blues (Demo) 03. Whatcha Gonna Do (Demo) 04. Social Parasite (Demo) 05. Queen of the Rodeo (Live) 06. Bleed the Freak (Demo) 07. Killing Yourself (Demo) 08. We Die Young 09. Man in the Box 10. Sea of Sorrow (Demo) 11. I Can't Remember 12. Love, Hate, Love 13. It Ain't Like That 14. Confusion 15. Rooster (Demo) 16. Right Turn 17. Got Me Wrong. Disco 2 01. Rain When I Die 02. 03. Them Bones 04. Dam That River 05. Sickman 06. Rooster 07. Junkhead (Demo) 08. Dirt 09. God Smack 10. Iron Gland 11. Angry Chair 12. Lying Season 13. Would? 14. Brother 15. Am I Inside 16. I Stay Away 17. No Excuses. Disco 3 01. Down in a Hole 02. Hate to Feel 03. (Remix) 04. A Little Bitter (Remix) 05. Grind 06. Again (Tattoo of Pain Mix) 07. Head Creeps 08. God Am 09. Frogs 10. Heaven Beside You 11. Nutshell (Unplugged) 12. The Killer Is Me (Unplugged) 13. Over Now (Unplugged) 14. Died. Nothing Safe (Link) Compilate Album 1999 01. Get Born Again 02. We Die Young (Demo) 03. Man in the Box 04. Them Bones 05. Iron Gland 06. Angry Chair 07. Down in a Hole 08. Rooster (Live) 09. Got Me Wrong 10. No Excuses 11. I Stay Away 12. What the Hell Have I 13. Grind 14. Again 15. Would? Live (Link) Official Live Album 2000 01. Bleed The Freak 02. Queen Of The Rodeo 03. Angry Chair 04. Man In The Box 05. Love, Hate, Love 06. Rooster 07. Would? 08. Junkhead 09. Dirt 10. Them Bones 11. God Am 12. Again 13. A Little Bitter 14. Dam That River. Greatest Hits (Link) Compilate Album 2001 01. Man in the Box 02. Them Bones 03. Rooster 04. Angry Chair 05. Would? 06. No Excuses 07. I Stay Away 08. Grind 09. Heaven Beside You 10. Again. The Essential Alice in Chains (Link) Compilate Album 2006 Disco 1 01. We Die Young 02. Man in the Box 03. Sea of Sorrow 04. Love, Hate, Love 05. Am I Inside 06. Brother 07. Got Me Wrong 08. Right Turn 09. Rain When I Die 10. Them Bones 11. Angry Chair 12. Dam That River 13. Dirt 14. God Smack 15. Hate to Feel 16. Rooster. Disco 2 01. No Excuses 02. I Stay Away 03. What the Hell Have I (Remix) 04. A Little Bitter (Remix) 05. Grind 06. Heaven Beside You 07. Again 08. Over Now (Unplugged Version) 09. Nutshell (Unplugged Version) 10. Get Born Again 11. Died 12. Would? (Link) Official Album 2009 01. All Secrets Known 02. 03. Last of My Kind 04. 05. 06. When the Sun Rose Again 07. Acid Bubble 08. 09. Take Her Out 10. Private Hell 11. Black Gives Way to Blue. The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here (Link) Official Album 2013 01. Hollow 02. Pretty Done 03. Stone 04. Voices 05. The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here 06. Lab Monkey 07. Low Ceiling 08. Breath On A Window 09. Scalpel 10. Phantom Limb 11. Hung On A Hook 12. Choke. Live at the Palladium (Link) Official Live Album 2015 01. Sickman 02. It Ain't Like That 03. Put You Down 04. Would? 05. Sunshine 06. We Die Young 07. Real Thing 08. Sea Of Sorrow 09. Bleed The Freak 10. Man In The Box. Why Alice In Chains' Unplugged is the best live album ever made. On April 10, 1996, pioneering Seattle grunge metallers Alice In Chains re-emerged after a two and a half year long live show hiatus (the band didn't tour in support of 1995's Alice In Chains ) to play the legendary acoustic television series MTV Unplugged . The stage lit with giant white candles purchased from Seattle's Pike Place market by vocalist Layne Staley (no way that would pass health and safety nowadays), the concert would go down in pop culture history as one of the most significant MTV Unplugged sessions ever recorded. But, even without the visuals, the CD version of the show – released on July 30, 1996 – is an iconic and essential record that every self-respecting AIC fan should own and it's more than earned its place as one of the most important and exceptional live albums ever made and the number one MTV Unplugged album to come out of the series (Nirvana's MTV Unplugged comes in a close second). You might be screaming at the screen shouting "No way! You're crazy! The greatest live album ever? But that's Motorhead's No Sleep 'Til Hammersmith or Iron Maiden's Live After Death !" You might have a point but I am here to tell you no, you're wrong my friend. No stadium show can ever be captured accurately on a CD, indeed I'd argue that no CD would ever really match the atmosphere of an epic live performance. But, the intimate setting in which this album was recorded and the following reasons I've laid out prove Unplugged has an unparalleled added depth that makes it a goddamn masterpiece with the ability to tug at your heart strings even in the most condensed MP3 format or when played through the cheapest stereo system. That's just how magical it is. One of Layne Staley's final performances. Alice in Chains Unplugged marked the second to last performance from Staley, who was battling a crippling addiction to heroin that was poignantly chronicled through the band's dark and agonising lyrics. His final ever performance was in the same year, when Alice in Chains replaced Stone Temple Pilots in an opening slot for the newly reunited Kiss. Staley overdosed following their concert in Kansas City on July 3 and despite the frontman recovering from the incident AIC were put on hiatus, and other than one brief recording two years later, where the band briefly reunited to record the songs Get Born Again and Died for Music Bank , Alice in Chains never played with Staley again. The original performance is therefore a chilling look at the tragic downfall of one of rock's most charismatic and enigmatic frontmen from glam rock loving metal star to the epitome of grunge – in the most negative sense of the word: a bedraggled junkie with scruffy pink hair awkwardly shuffles from the back of the stage and takes his seat. Sunglasses disguise his blackened eyes, long sleeves cover scars left behind from shooting up and he awkwardly clutches his hands together as if afraid to emerge from the shadows and take centre stage – quite different from the powerful vocalist we'd come to know and love. His once glowing, cheeky grin is replaced by a morose, pained half-smile, but nevertheless, his sense of humour is still prevalent and he immediately belts out Nutshell and continues to give a strong vocal performance throughout – a testament to his sheer natural talent. The album understandably garnered a resurgence of recognition after the death of Staley, with many media outlets – even those who had given the album initially scathing reviews – praising the power of performance despite his condition at the time. "I wish I could just hug you all, but I'm not gonna," Staley proclaims at the end of the record – and we wish we could hug you right back, Layne. Acoustic Alice in Chains is nothing short of haunting. It's not just the tragic backstory that makes Alice In Chains Unplugged a poignant piece of work, the tracks themselves are what make it a truly formidable live record. If you were to know nothing about the band prior to listening, odds are you'd still come away moved. AIC's down-tuned sludgy heavy metal somehow lends itself to the acoustic format. Every song transforms from a powerful, angry and forceful catharsis to a frustrated and haunting lament. Opening with Nutshell – taken from Alice In Chains' third studio EP Jar Of Flies – the track has become a staple of 90s grunge, despite never being released as a single. If a band can start a show, an MTV live show aired on international television, with an album track you know they're something special. Staley immediately starts singing it as he takes a seat, without any perceived warning but somehow seamlessly matching with guitarist Jerry Cantrell's strumming. While we were all aware of Staley's battle against addiction (there were many rumours circulating about his decline in health, which only became worse after the band's hiatus) and while AIC's lyrics had never shied way from the bleak reality of his relationship with drugs they become all the more stark and impactful when crooned alongside the strums of an acoustic guitar. Every word resonates and Staley and Cantrell's raw, signature harmonies with no accompaniment will chill you to the core. The lyrics "We face the path of time/And yet I fight/And yet I fight/This battle all alone/No one to cry to/No place to call home" are so much more soul-stirring when placed up against the tranquility of the intimate setting and calmer-paced melody, and opening with this hopelessness and despair is all the more heartbreaking. Alice In Chains prepared the entire show ahead of time, with the specifications of MTV Unplugged in mind, creating a set list that balances more energetic tracks with solemn, tenser songs. The set was compiled like an album, which is likely why the record itself, when it was released on CD format, became such a big hit with audiences. Following Nutshell , the band move into Brother and then No Excuses – a song that just lends itself to the acoustic format. Alice in Chains play some of their greatest hits (including Rooster and Would? ) and even throw in a brand new, never released song – the finale, Killer Is Me . This choice of closer is particularly eerie in the wake of Layne Staley's death. It's the little things. The band manage to give Metallica (who for the knowledgable or keen MTV Unplugged viewers know were sitting in the front row of the show) a nod, breaking into the intro of both Battery and Enter Sandman seamlessly in between their own iconic tunes, to which you hear the crowd's delighted response. But unlike traditional live albums, there aren't constant screams and audience reactions – just a few laughs and comments that immerse you in the atmosphere and to which you can hear Staley's tongue-in-cheek responses – and it really is a treat to feel like you are in the room with the guy. If you listen closely, you can hear Staley's slight lisp – particularly when he addresses the crowd – a tragic reminder that he was slowly but surely perishing away thanks to his constant heroin and crack use, and it began with the deterioration of his teeth, a few of which he'd reportedly lost by the time of this show. Despite the dark troubles behind closed doors, the band maintain their humour – the night of the performance, Cantrell had food poisoning, yet you'd never know it and of course Staley powers through his own illness and, as mentioned, adds humorous quips that prove his light is clearly still shining someone underneath his fragile exterior. If you take a look at the DVD version, you can see Jerry encouraging and helping out his old friend as he gets used to the idea of being on stage again (it had been three years after all!). These small but poignant elements add a tragic and heart wrenching depth to the entire album, none of which would not be noticeable, or wouldn't occur at all, had the record been produced and recorded in a studio. It's historic. It debuted at number three on the Billboard 200 chart, and has since been certified platinum by the RIAA, while the VHS video of the performance is also certified gold – if that doesn't prove what a spectacular, incredible piece of work this record is, I don't know what does. Not only that, but the performance itself has gained a legendary status that nobody could have imagined at the time – this record is a snippet of heavy metal history. The magic captured through the performance is quite frankly, spectacular: The jokes and how Staley and Cantrell bounce off of each other in such a light-hearted and humorous way, the sheer musicianship of every member of the band, the thoughtful curation of songs that worked so perfectly in the acoustic setting and, of course, the fact that Alice in Chains hadn't performed together for such a long period before it as well as the tragic reality that they barely would ever again. This truly is a special record and one every metal fan should treasure. The true beauty of it, and why it's the greatest live album of all time, is that it works just as a stand alone album as it does as a video ( and not just as a memento of a live concert) how many live records can you say that about? Downloads alice in chains unplugged album free mp3. Alice In Chains - Discography. Country: USA Genre: Alt. Metal / Alt. Rock / Grunge Quality: Mp3,CBR 320 kbps (CDRip+Covers) Albums: 1990 - Facelift 1992 - Dirt (Limited Edition) 1995 - Alice In Chains (Japanese Edition) 1996 - MTV Unplugged 1999 - Nothing Safe - The Best of The Box 2000 - Live 2001 - Greatest Hits 2001 - The Best Of Alice In Chains 2006 - The Essential Alice in Chains 2009 - Black Gives Way To Blue 2013 - The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here 2018 - Singles, EPs, Fan Club & Promo. Tracklist: 01. We Die Young (2:32) 02. Man in the Box (4:46) 03. Sea of Sorrow (5:50) 04. Bleed the Freak (4:02) 05. I Can't Remember (3:43) 06. Love, Hate, Love (6:27) 07. It Ain't Like That (4:38) 08. Sunshine (4:45) 09. Put You Down (3:16) 10. Confusion (5:44) 11. I Know Somethin' ('bout You) (4:22) 12. Real Thing (4:03) Tracklist: 01. Them Bones (2:30) 02. Dam That River (3:09) 03. Rain When I Die (6:02) 04. Sickman (5:29) 05. Rooster (6:15) 06. Junkhead (5:09) 07. Dirt (5:17) 08. God Smack (3:51) 09. [Untitled] (0:43) 10. Hate to Feel (5:16) 11. Angry Chair (4:48) 12. Down in a Hole (5:38) 13. Would? (3:28) Bonus CD: 01. Down in a Hole (radio edit) (3:53) 02. Down in a Hole (LP version) (5:40) 03. What the Hell Have I (4:00) 04. Rooster (6:14) Tracklist: 01. Grind (4:45) 02. Brush Away (3:22) 03. Sludge Factory (7:12) 04. Heaven Beside You (5:28) 05. Head Creeps (6:28) 06. Again (4:05) 07. Shame In You (5:36) 08. God Am (4:08) 09. So Close (2:46) 10. Nothin' Song (5:41) 11. Frogs (8:18) 12. Over Now (7:34) Bonus Tracks: 13. Again (Tatoo Of Pain Mix) (4:04) 14. Again (Jungle Mix) (4:09) Tracklist: 01. Nutshell (4:57) 02. Brother (5:27) 03. No Excuses (4:57) 04. Sludge Factory (4:37) 05. Down In A Hole (5:46) 06. Angry Chair (4:36) 07. Rooster (6:41) 08. Got Me Wrong (5:00) 09. Heaven Beside You (5:38) 10. Would? (3:43) 11. Frogs (7:30) 12. Over Now (7:13) 13. Killer Is Me (5:24) Tracklist: 01. Get Born Again (5:28) 02. We Die Young (Demo) (2:26) 03. Man In The Box (4:46) 04. Them Bones (2:29) 05. Iron Gland (0:45) 06. Angry Chair (4:47) 07. Down In A Hole (5:38) 08. Rooster (Live) (6:54) 09. Got Me Wrong (4:25) 10. No Excuses (4:16) 11. I Stay Away (4:15) 12. What The Hell Have I (3:58) 13. Grind (4:47) 14. Again (4:06) 15. Would? (3:28) Tracklist: 01. Bleed The Freak (4:34) 02. Queen Of The Rodeo (4:41) 03. Angry Chair (4:22) 04. Man In The Box (4:57) 05. Love, Hate, Love (7:47) 06. Rooster (6:48) 07. Would? (3:49) 08. Junkhead (5:21) 09. Dirt (5:23) 10. Them Bones (2:40) 11. God Am (3:59) 12. Again (4:24) 13. A Little Bitter (3:52) 14. Dam That River (3:33) Tracklist: 01. Man In The Box (4:48) 02. Them Bones (2:31) 03. Rooster (6:16) 04. Angry Chair (4:49) 05. Would? (3:28) 06. No Excuses (4:16) 07. I Stay Away (4:14) 08. Grind (4:47) 09. Heaven Beside You (5:30) 10. Again (4:05) Tracklist: 01. Them Bones (2:30) 02. Man In The Box (4:45) 03. Again (4:04) 04. Down In The Hole (5:38) 05. What The Hell Have I (3:57) 06. Love, Hate, Love (6:26) 07. Sludge Factory (7:12) 08. No Excuses (4:15) 09. Rooster (6:15) 10. Heaven Beside You (5:28) 11. Would? (3:27) 12. Shame In You (5:36) 13. I Stay Away (4:14) 14. Brother (4:27) 15. Dont Follow (4:23) Tracklist: CD1: 01. We Die Young (2:33) 02. Man In The Box (4:47) 03. Sea Of Sorrow (5:51) 04. Love, Hate, Love (6:29) 05. Am I Inside (5:09) 06. Brother (4:29) 07. Got Me Wrong (4:12) 08. Right Turn (3:15) 09. Rain When I Die (6:03) 10. Them Bones (2:31) 11. Angry Chair (4:49) 12. Dam That River (3:10) 13. Dirt (5:17) 14. God Smack (3:51) 15. Hate To Feel (5:17) 16. Rooster (6:16) CD2: 01. No Excuses (4:16) 02. I Stay Away (4:14) 03. What The Hell Have I (Remix) (3:54) 04. A Little Bitter (Remix) (3:48) 05. Grind (4:46) 06. Heaven Beside You (5:30) 07. Again (4:05) 08. Over Now (Unplugged Version) (5:57) 09. Nutshell (Unplugged Version) (4:32) 10. Get Born Again (5:25) 11. Died (5:58) 12. Would? (3:28) Tracklist: 01. All Secrets Known (4:43) 02. Check My Brain (3:58) 03. Last Of My Kind (5:53) 04. Your Decision (4:43) 05. A Looking In View (7:06) 06. When The Sun Rose Again (4:00) 07. Acid Bubble (6:56) 08. Lessons Learned (4:17) 09. Take Her Out (4:00) 10. Private Hell (5:38) 11. Black Gives Way To Blue (3:04) Tracklist: 01. Hollow (5:41) 02. Pretty Done (4:36) 03. Stone (4:23) 04. Voices (5:43) 05. The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here (6:39) 06. Lab Monkey (5:58) 07. Low Ceiling (5:15) 08. Breath On A Window (5:20) 09. Scalpel (5:21) 10. Phantom Limb (7:08) 11. Hung On A Hook (5:35) 12. Choke (5:44) Tracklist: 01. 02. Rainier Fog 03. Red Giant 04. Fly 05. Drone 06. Deaf Ears Blind Eyes 07. Maybe 08. 09. Never Fade 10. All I Am. Tracklist: 1987 - Demo #1 [10:12] 1987 - Demo #2 [16:35] - VBR V0 1989 - Publisher Demos [45:38] 1990 - We Die Young (EP) [10:12] 1991 - Man In The Box (Single) [09:15] 1991 - Bleed The Freak / Put You Down (Single) [07:36] 1992 - Would? (EP) [15:59] 1992 - Would? (Single) [03:27] 1992 - Angry Chair (Single) [19:26] 1992 - Sap (EP) [20:52] 1993 - Chained To The Studio [1:12:13] - 160 kbps 1993 - Rooster (Single) [09:30] 1993 - Down in a Hole (Single) [19:47] 1993 - Them Bones (Single) [14:28] 1993 - What The Hell Have I (Single) [07:54] 1994 - Jar Of Flies (EP) [30:52] 1995 - Grind (Single) [18:20] 1995 - Grind (Single, Limited Edition) [18:06] 1996 - Heaven Beside You (Single) [21:29] 1996 - Heaven Beside You - Version 2 (Single) [23:37] 1996 - Again (Single) [16:53] 1999 - Get Born Again (Single) [19:38] 1999 - Fear The Voices (Single) [04:58] 2003 - The Old Times [Early Demos] [1:18:19] - 128 kbps 2009 - A Looking In View (Single) [07:06] - VBR V0 2009 - Your Decision (Single) [04:03] 2013 - Hollow (Single) [05:42] 2013 - Stone (Single) [04:23] The Great (Live) Albums: Alice in Chains' ‘MTV Unplugged’ The Great (Live) Albums is our new bimonthly column taking a look at some of the best—or at least most interesting—live recordings in pop music history. How do these odd documents fit in with an artist’s overall discography? What do they teach us about the history of rock? Let’s find out! MTV Unplugged , Alice in Chains (1996, Columbia) First things first: this is not a blog about Nirvana’s Unplugged in New York . That should be obvious from both the title of the article and lead image, but chances are you still started humming “About a Girl” and picturing Kurt Cobain’s bizarre pistachio-colored grannie sweater, regardless. That 1994 unplugged set, of course, looms large in ‘90s alt-rock history, released just seven month’s after Cobain’s April 1994 shotgun suicide and standing—for all intents and purposes—as the epochal Seattle power trio’s final will and testament. I’ll get around to Nirvana someday. But what I really want to talk about right now is Alice in Chains and their frontman Layne Staley—an arguably more tragic figure than even Cobain, whose turn on MTV’s signature acoustic concert program was no less haunted by the crescent-moon shadow of the Grim Reaper’s scythe poised irrevocably over his pink-hued head. By the time the Seattle band made it to the Brooklyn Academy of Music’s Majestic Theater to record their Unplugged set on April 11, 1996, they were pretty much spent. The group hadn’t performed live together in nearly three years, and their last studio record, 1995’s (underrated) Alice in Chains , had been largely recorded without Staley—perpetually battling addiction—actually present in the studio. (It shows. Staley’s contributions on the self-titled LP sound literally telephoned in, or even excavated from some long-forgotten crypt.) After Unplugged the original, Staley-fronted version of AIC was basically kaput. But you wouldn’t know the band was in such dire straits by the performances delivered on the powerful 13-song set (10 of which made the final broadcast.) Featuring Staley on lead vocals, singer/guitarist Jerry Cantrell, bassist , drummer Sean Kinney, and second guitarist Scott Olson, the AIC that shows up on Unplugged is a tight, well- practiced unit with no weak links, seemingly eager to shake off the heavy metal sludge of their studio recordings. Stools and super-drippy candles? We got 'em! The album begins with a moody two-song suite of Staley’s “Nutshell” (from the 1994 EP Jar of Flies ) and Cantrell’s “Brother” (off the 1992 EP Sap ), a foreboding rolling-fog ballad of loss sliced through by an itchy, serpentine guitar hook. Staley then offers a friendly, vaguely Southern- accented word of welcome to the audience as the band launches into the comparatively upbeat “No Excuses” ( Jar of Flies ), the harrowing “Sludge Factory” ( Alice in Chains ) and the searing self-flagellating psycho-drama of “Down in a Hole,” off 1992’s career high LP, Dirt . In video footage from the Unplugged broadcast, Staley sits slumped on a stool, downcast eyes mostly shielded behind a pair of dark sunglasses, hands clasped in his lap or hanging at his sides. He barely moves at all, and appears to be reading his lyrics off a music stand, Michael Stipe-style. It’s obvious that this is a dude whose physicality has been severely diminished, which only serves to make his hyper-competent vocal performance even more impressive. That Staley mustered enough courage to put himself on display like this—and kill it, frankly—is bonkers. If I so much as stub a toe, I call in sick. Later on the record when a clearly buoyant Staley says, “I have to say: this is probably the best show we’ve done in three years,” the words glow like rays of sunshine. All the more heartbreaking, then, when a second voice (Inez? Kinney?) points out, “Layne, it’s the only one.” “Well… it’s still the best,” Staley chuckles. Highlights on the back half of the album include Cantrell’s Vietnam-epic “Rooster,” “Heaven Beside You,” and the Singles -soundtrack grunge classic “Would?”—anchored by Inez’s chugging bass riff (elsewhere, Inez often plays fretless for an added bit of sonic texture.) But Unplugged ’s melodramatic peak comes on the third-to-last track, “Frogs,” an eight-minute Alice in Chains dirge featuring a lengthy section of Staley talk-singing a creepy monologue about his impending 28th birthday. It’s an eerie bit of numerology, given the morbid import of the age 27 among dead rockers. (For the record, Staley lived to 34.) Alice in Chains was always the most unabashedly metal-tinged of the grunge A-listers. But as with other quality hard rock groups, the limitations of the MTV format stripped the band of their Marshall stacks and left them to rely solely on the strength of theri songwriting—a challenge AIC was game to tackle. MTV’s ongoing Unplugged experiment is a fascinating phenomenon, and I’m sure we’ll revisit the show again before too long. As for Alice in Chains, I’m glad the rest of the band is still touring and putting out albums. And I’m glad Staley got this one final showcase before drifting off for good.